Snap-on telephone mouthpiece



s. SCHULHOFF ET 'AL SNAP-0N TELEPHONE MOUTHPIECE May 18 1926. 1,585,564

Filed August 27, 1925 Fatented l8, lr i ti.

Units "s SAUL SCHULHOIFF AN D BENJAMIN F. HOFFMAN, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SNAP-ON TELEPHONE MTQUTHPIECE.

, Application filed August 27, 1925. Serial No. 52,864.

This invention relates to telephone mouthpieces, and the object of the inven-' tion is to provide-a mouthpiece of soft rubber adapted to be applied to the regular telephone transmitter, the mouthpiece v.being of soft rubber instead of the present hard rubber mouthpiece so that if the transmitter should be dropped the mouthpiece will not break.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which may be readily snap ped into place so as to permit the mouthpiece to be readily detached for cleansing or readily replaced. I

There are two forms of our invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of a telephone transmitter with our mouthpiece applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the mouthpiece;

Figure 3 is a'face view of the mouth piece;

Figure 4: is an elevation of the transmitter partly in section showing a modified form of mouthpiece applied thereto;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the mouthpiece proper;

Figure 6 is sectional. mouthpiece holding annulus.

Referring to this drawing, and particularly to Figure 1, A designates a tele phone transmitter having the front plate a'provided with a central opening. The mouthpiece 10 is made of semi-hard or flexible, elastic material such as rubber, sufiiciently soft to be flexible but at the same time sufficiently hard so that it will retain its shape. This mouthpiece is relatively view of the large at its outer end and tapers inward toward its small end and as it extends inward it increases in thickness so that the butt end of the mouthpiece is greater in thick ness than the other extremity of the mouthpiece this other extremity being relatively thin so as to permit it to be flexible and thereby conform to the lips.

Preferably the butt end of the mouthpiece is formed with a transversely extend ing diaphragm 11 having apertures 12. e do not wish to be limited to the particular form of this diaphgram nor to the form of the apertures. The diaphragm may be formed in one piece with the rubber mouthpiece or it may be a separate diaphragm. The butt end of the mouthpiece 10 upon its exterior face is formed with an annular gr0ove13. This will permit the mouthpiece 10 to be snapped into place and ergage the thickened wall surrounding the central opening of the telephone transmitter.

In Figure 4, we show another form of the mouthpiece where 10 is the rubber body of the mouthpiece having the same general form as that shown in Figure 1 but having at its butt end and upon its inside face a rabbet 14. The outer wall of this rabbet is formed with an annular surrounded flange 15. Adapted to coact with this rabbetted portion 14 and engage this flange is a metallic ferrule 16 which is adapted to occupy the space between the inner face of the outer wall of the rabbet and the inner face of the mouthpiece. This annuluar member 16 is formed with the rearwardly projecting flange 17, the exterior face of which is threaded so as to engage the threads of the wall defining the central opening of the telephone transmitter A.

With this construction, the ferrule of metal is adapted to be screw-threaded in place upon the telephone transmitter and then the mouthpiece may be snapped into place upon the ferrule or readily removed therefrom. Thus it will be seen that in both forms of our device the mouthpiece is removableso as to permit it to be cleansed and put back on the telephone transmitter or permit a new mouthpiece to be substi-- tuted for an old one and by forming the mounthpiece of relatively soft, flexible rubber it will conform to the mouth readily and thus the tones of the voice will be more distinctly transmitted through the telephone. It is particularly valuable, however, by rea son of the fact that it may be readily removed and put in place without any skilled workmanship and without any danger of injuring the transmitter or injuring the mouthpiece and further because even though the telephone be dropped this soft rubber mouthpiece will not be broken or cracked, which is the case with the hard rubber mouthpiece commonly used today.

We claim i 1. A mouthpiece for telephone transmitters formed of soft and elastic rubber, the butt end of the mouthpiece having a pro jecting annular flange adapted to have intel-locking engagement with a part of a telephone transmitter and detachably engaging the telephone transmitter by virtue of its elasticity and flexibility.

2. A telephone mouthpiece formed of soft elastic flexible rubber, the mouthpiece flaring from its butt end to its outer end and being reduced in thickness from its butt end to its outer end, the mouthpiece adjacent the butt end being formed With a transversely extending diaphragm and the butt end of the mouthpiece rearward of said diaphragm being tormed to detach-ably interlock with a part of a telephone transmitter.

3. As an article of manufacture a mouthpiece for telephone transmitters formed of. soft flexible elastic rubber flaring from its butt end to its outer end and being rela tively thick at its inner end and thin at its outer endgthe butt end ott-the mouthpiecebeing formed with a recess adapted to engage a part of a telephone transmitter.

4;. As an'article of manufacture, a mouthpiece for telephone transmitters formed of soft and flexible elastic rubber flaring from its but-t end to its outer end and being relatively thick at its inner end and thin at its outer end, the butt end of the mouthpiece being formed With an annular recess, the outer Wall of said recess upon its outer face being rounded whereby the mouthpiece may be readily snapped into engagement with a telephone transmitter.

5. A telephone mouthpiece of flexible elastic material having an annular recess defined by an integral flange to detaehably fasten to -a telephone transmitter by virtue of its flexibility.

G. A telephone mouthpiece of flexible elastic material it'ormed with an annular recess at its butt end said recess being delined at the end oii'the mouthpiece by an integral flange the flange being adapted to be forced into a telephone transmitter and snapped into place behind the front wall of said telephone transmitter.

In testimony whereof We "hereunto aifix our signatures.

SAUL SGHULHO 'FF. BENJAMIN F. HOFFDQIAN. 

